SCOOPLET … WAGGENER EDSTROM ADDS ARISBE GARDNER: Arisbe Gardner has joined Waggener Edstrom as vice president of public affairs. She will join the firm’s public affairs practice where she will report to Ben Finzel, senior vice president and head of the firm’s D.C. office. She joins Waggener from Booz Allen Hamilton, where she worked on communications and cybersecurity awareness. “Her dynamic personality and strong technology and innovation background are a perfect fit for Waggener Edstrom; we are looking forward to putting her experience into action for clients across all of our industry sectors,” said Jenny Moede, president of WE North America.

SCOOPLET — NRSC’S HAMEL JOINS TEAM BOEHNER:Lauren Hamel, PAC director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2012 cycle, will serve as deputy finance director for Speaker John Boehner. She will be joining Caitlin Wohlfarth Franklin who leads fundraising efforts for the National Republican Campaign Committee and Boehner’s own committees — Boehner for Speaker, Freedom Project and Friends of John Boehner.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ RAMPS UP LEADERSHIP PAC: DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has brought on Lindsay Melander Schulte as the new executive director for the Florida Democrat's DWS PAC. Melander Schulte most recently served as national finance director of the DCCC. The move — was first laid out to downtowners late last month at a kitchen cabinet happy hour. PI hears that longtime Wasserman Schultz aide Jason O'Malley spoke and gave a general overview of how things are going. Fundraiser Molly Allen was also there. K Streeters in the room: Gordon Taylor of Ogilvy Government Relations; John Michael Gonzalez of Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart; Matt Gelman of Microsoft; Lee Friedman of NCTA; Stacey Bernards of Honeywell; Paul Thornell of Citigroup; among others.

GOOD THURSDAY AFTERNOON, where it’s the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the World Trade Center complex. The iconic Twin Towers opened on April 4, 1973. They were, of course, destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks. One World Trade Center — the building that will replace the Twin Towers — is due to be completed in late 2013. Send your lobbying and campaign finance news, gossip, tips, scoops and favorite memories from 1973 to btau@politico.com or apalmer@politico.com. And follow us on Twitter at @ ByronTau and @ apalmerdc. Tarini is at tparti@politico.com or on Twitter at @ tparti.

LUGAR FETED BY COLLEAGUES: Katherine Lugar, outgoing executive vice president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, was feted by colleagues and friends over lunch at Fiola's. Lugar will soon be taking the reins at the American Hotel & Lodging Association. According to a PI tipster, gifts were exchanged, and Lugar was referred to numerous times as the "honey badger" for her tireless and unrelenting work on behalf of the retail industry. In attendance: Mark Isakowitz of Isakowitz & Blalock; Matt Zabet of Target; Mark Neuman of Limited Brands; Kent Knutson of Home Depot; Sandy Kennedy of the RILA ; Ray Pohlman of AutoZone; among others.

BANNER PUBLIC AFFAIRS SIGNS 10: Banner Public Affairs has registered to lobby on behalf of 10 clients — Brewer Science Inc.; Carpenters’ Benefit Plans; Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis; CKE Restaurants, Inc.; Express Scripts, Inc.; HP Enterprise Services; Air Canada; Cemex; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association; and Unico Incorporated. Senate lobbying disclosures show that those 10 are the firm’s only clients. Mercury/Clark & Weinstock’s Brett Thompson and Jesse Appleton are listed as lobbyists for the firm. They did not return multiple inquiries for more details on the firm.

SEIU AND ALLIANCE FOR CITIZENSHIP ORGANIZE RALLY FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM: Service Employees International Union and Alliance for Citizenship are organizing more than 50 field actions across the country in the coming days in support of immigration reform, ending with a rally outside the U.S. Capitol on April 10. The “Time is Now” rally will take place on the West Lawn of the Capitol and will feature celebrity artists and prominent civil rights, faith, political and labor leaders.

HERTLING MOVES TO COVINGTON:Richard Hertling, a veteran congressional staffer, is joining Covington & Burling’s global public policy and government affairs practice. Hertling has served in leadership roles for Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department. He most recently served as staff director and chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee. Hertling will be working with former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) and former Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif), who recently joined the firm.

RESTAURANT GROUP TO LOBBY ON MINIMUM WAGE:Restaurant Opportunities Centers United has registered to lobby on labor issues, according to Senate lobbying disclosures. Britton Loftin will be lobbying on The Fair Minimum Wage Act and The Healthy Families Act on behalf of the group, which works to improve wages and working conditions for the restaurant workforce.

MEEKS FUNDRAISING AT THE BELMONT STAKES: Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) is hosting a fundraiser at the Belmont Stakes in June. "The Belmont Stakes is said to be the Triple Crown's toughest track! The first race begins at 11:30 a.m.," an invitation obtained by PI says. The suggested contribution is $2,000 per PAC or $1,000 per individual.

MCCORMICK JOINS SKDKNICKERBOCKER: Kelley McCormick will join SKDKnickerbocker as a managing director, the firm announced Thursday. She joins the company from McBee|Gibraltar where she worked on a number of corporate and nonprofit campaigns.

PAC THAT EXISTS: " Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy.” http://beardpac.com. The PAC's founder did not immediately respond to a PI phone call.

Authors:

About The Author

Anna Palmer is a senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO and co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics.

Anna covers the world of Congress and politics, and has successfully chronicled the business of Washington insiders for years. Her stories take readers behind the scenes for the biggest fights in Washington as well as the 2016 election.

Prior to becoming POLITICO’s senior Washington correspondent, Anna was the co-author of the daily newsletter, POLITICO Influence, considered a must-read on K Street.

Anna previously covered House leadership and lobbying as a staff writer for Roll Call. She got her start in Washington journalism as a lobbying business reporter for the industry newsletter Influence. She has also worked at Legal Times, where she covered the intersection of money and politics for the legal and lobbying industry, first as a staff writer and then as an editor.

A native of North Dakota, Anna is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where she was executive editor of the weekly campus newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. She lives in Washington, D.C.